24 Hours of Le Mans: Audi vs Toyota Battle Has Started

AdministratorStaffPremium

Under rainy conditions the preparations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans started today with the official test event at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France witnessed by 23000 spectators.

With less than two weeks left to go until the start of the most prestigious endurance race of the year, which celebrates its 90th anniversary, it was interesting to see what happened to the two favorites for the LMP1 class and overall victory, Audi and Toyota.Audi

Audi Sport Team Joest set up the long-tail version of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro for the high-speed track on the eight-hour test day.

On a mostly wet Sunday at La Sarthe, the team of the eleven-time Le Mans winner concentrated on testing various aerodynamic set-up versions of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro. In addition, the engineers experimented with different tire pressures in order to analyze the performance of the rain tires on a single lap and across longer distances. When showers set in, the team decided to end the mornings practice session early. The track conditions were too inconsistent, as Loïc Duval came to find out too in an off-track excursion in the Tertre Rouge corner toward the end of the first half of the day. His car, designated as number 2, remained structurally undamaged in the incident and was ready to resume the test after the lunch break.

In the afternoon, there was only slow improvement of the weather situation. It was only possible to use dry tires on the tradition-steeped track in the last 90 minutes. The three R18 e-tron quattro cars finished the test day in the top three positions. Despite the prevailing rainy weather conditions car number 4 also gathered important findings for the future. Audi factory driver Marco Bonanomi in the black R18 e-tron quattro tested the new tire generation by partner Michelin for 2014.

We traveled to the test day in order to work through various programs and to learn something in the process, said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich in summing up the day. Unfortunately, due to the unsteady weather, we didnt even come close to being able to try out all the planned options. It only became dry toward the end. Loïc Duval ultimately found a free lap, and he managed to set the fastest time. But only in the race well really see where we stand.Toyota

Two 2013-specification TS030 HYBRID cars joined the official test day, where a full field took the only chance of the year to prepare on the circuit prior to the race week.

With a 24-hour race approaching, the team concentrated on long runs, with both cars completing more than 80 laps each, producing a combined total of 2,276km running for the two TS030 HYBRIDs.

The #7 of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima worked on different aerodynamic set-ups, fine-tuning the car for the unique combination of long straights, chicanes and sweeping corners at Le Mans.

In the #8, Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Stéphane Sarrazin took on a programme of tyre and set-up evaluation, made even more intense by morning rain which left the track very slippery.

Both cars also took the chance to refine the settings of the TOYOTA HYBRID System - Racing, which charges its super capacitors in seven regulation-defined hybrid braking zones before delivering 300hp of boost automatically.

Heavy overnight and morning rain left the track extremely slippery for Alex and Stéphane, who started the session. Rain continued as Kazuki, then Nicolas took over the #7 and first Sébastien, then Anthony did stints in the #8 before lunch.

Midway through the afternoon session, with the rain having stopped, the track began to dry sufficiently for intermediate Michelin tyres, and lap times rapidly improved.

Nicolas, Kazuki then Alex completed stints behind the wheel of the #7 while Anthony, Stéphane, Sébastien then Anthony again drove the #8 in the afternoon.Top 10 Results